"Our things have sentimental value only."

Not so. People sometimes confuse sentiment with objective market values on personal property, which increases in value, is bought, sold and traded like your home, auto or business.

"But we don't have anything old."

In today's collectables market, the expensive item may be less than 15 years old! Age is not necessarily indicative of value.

"But we have receipts and an old appraisal. We know what our things are worth."

Receipts for something bought more than two years ago may no longer be relevant. Personal property changes in value like anything else; like homes, autos, or stocks. Appraisals that are not recent do not accurately reflect current values; in fact, they may be misleading as documents of record.

"My attorney (or insurance agent or financial advisor) advises me on my personal property."

Attorneys, insurance agents, and financial advisors are important and respected professionals in our community. But they may have limited knowledge about appreciable property, because they have are not necessarily trained specialists in this area.

Without expert advice, costly guesswork can be, and frequently is, the result of bypassing the qualified advisor. Similarly, the antiques, art, or collectables dealer may not be trained and qualified specifically in appraisal preparation.

"We have nothing of value"

This is probably wrong. No matter what the income level or personal property buying habits of our clients, they are almost always surprised by what we find.

"How do we know if what we have is worth appraising?"

"Are appraisals really worth the money?"

The personal property valuations we have conducted justify themselves. One particularly valuable approach that continues to surprise clients is the "top to bottom" appreciable property household inventory of items of value. Tens of thousands of dollars of hidden assets are routinely uncovered by this process.